Penn State vs. Northwestern Game Grades

Sep 27, 2014; University Park, PA, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin (right) looks on during the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Coaching

Not the best effort from the team or the coaching staff this past weekend.

Once the Nittany Lions went down, the coaching staff abandoned the running game. While the run game has had little to no success, mixing in the idea of a run and trying to develop a run game is still important. During this contest, Hackenberg had a hand in nearly 80% of the offense’s plays. That’s insane. I understand the run game wasn’t working, but you have to come up with something else.

A bunch of questionable calls came up as well. After a deep pass to Hamilton to put the Nittany Lions in scoring position, Bill Belton immediately came out into the wildcat to throw a pass. I’m not against the wildcat or trick plays, but I thought that was a case of getting too cute.

After the game, Coach James Franklin took the blame, saying he didn’t have his team ready. Whether that was true or not, the coaching staff will have to overcome the emotions of their first loss at Penn State and get the team ready come October 11th.

Grade: D-